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Commissioned by Payne & Son my brief was to design a set of spoons to celebrate the forthcoming Jubilee celebrations. On researching the coronation ceremony I discovered that the Queen wears more than one crown! She was invested in the St Edward crown (spoon on the right) and on the return journey back to Buckingham Palace she wore the Imperial State Crown (spoon on the left). The crown we are most likely to see her wear is the Diamond Diadem (centre spoon), which she wears on the occasions of travelling to the State Openings of Parliament.

I was also inspired by line in the poem written by the Poet Laureate, John Masefield which marked the Queen's Wedding, in 1947. " Where a Crown shines, the courage cannot fail " (second verse line thirdline)The full poem can be found here.

This in one of a set of three caddy spoons that I'm working on for Paynes & Son in Oxford. Each spoon illustrates a different crown and will mark the celebration of the Queens Diamond Jubilee in June.

This spoon wears the Diamond Diadem, which is the crown that the Queen is dressed in between Buckingham Palace and The Palace of Westminster for the state opening of Parliament. It was originally made for George IV in 1820.

In the photo below the piece is still a work in progress. It is engraved and ready to be enamelled. I'll post another image when I finish the different stages......